wall street journalAccording to sources familiar with the matter, OpenAI is making intensive preparations for its initial public offering (IPO) in the fourth quarter of this year. This mega-unicorn, currently valued at $5000 billion, has reportedly begun informal talks with investment banks and is significantly expanding its finance team, attempting to...Rival Anthropic previously made its debut on the US stock market..
Expanding military capabilities, aiming for a fourth-quarter IPO
To cope with the complex compliance requirements for going public, OpenAI has been making frequent moves recently. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the company has recruited heavyweight financial executives, including Chief Financial Officer Ajmere Dale and Investor Relations Director Cynthia Gaylor.
Although CEO Sam Altman has publicly stated that he feels "no excitement" about becoming a publicly traded company, the pressure of funding and shareholder expectations make an IPO seem inevitable. Reports indicate that former Instacart CEO and current head of OpenAI's applications business, Fidji Simo, will assume some of the management responsibilities of the publicly traded company, becoming one of the key figures behind this IPO spectacle.
Arch-rival Anthropic is closing in, and SpaceX is also getting involved.
OpenAI's anxieties are not unfounded. Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI members, has seen its revenue skyrocket thanks to the strong performance of its programming assistant, Claude Code.
It is rumored that Anthropic has also expressed its intention to go public before the end of the year to its financial partners. Its financial forecasts show that it is expected to break even in 2028, a full two years earlier than OpenAI's estimated time. This is undoubtedly a major selling point for public market investors who value profitability.
In addition, Elon Musk's SpaceX is also rumored to be launching its IPO this summer, meaning that in the second half of 2026, the US stock market may simultaneously witness a battle for capital among three epic behemoths.
Burning money to buy the future: Amazon and SoftBank become potential investors?
Why the rush to go public? Simply put, it's because they're "short of money." To train next-generation models and build computing infrastructure, OpenAI and Anthropic face billions of dollars in losses annually, and an IPO provides a stable lifeline.
On the eve of its IPO, OpenAI is reportedly pushing for a funding round targeting over $1000 billion, which, if successful, would further boost its valuation to $8300 billion. Besides...SoftbankIn addition to its intention to invest an additional $300 billion, Amazon, the financial backer of Anthropic, is also reportedly in talks with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about a potential investment of up to $500 billion.
